British Air Force Typhoon jets have operated alongside French warplanes in a coordinated attack on an underground arms cache in Syrian territory employed by the Islamic State group (IS), per a report from the UK Ministry of Defence.
The site, identified by surveillance, was assessed as storing arms and explosives, the announcement noted, and was positioned in hills just above the ancient city of Palmyra in central Syria.
"Our fighter planes utilized laser-guided Paveway IV weapons to strike a several access tunnels providing entry to the facility... early reports are that the strike was effective," the MoD said.
There was no sign of any civilian casualties in the strike on Saturday evening and each participating jet returned to base without incident, the MoD added.
The British jets were backed up by a Voyager tanker plane.
IS - also known as Daesh - enforced militant control over large swathes of both Syria and Iraq prior to its 2019 collapse.
"This strike underscores our UK leadership, and commitment to operate in unison with our allies, to stamp out any revival of the terrorist group and their dangerous and violent ideologies in the region," the British Defence Secretary the minister stated.
British military aircraft have carried out surveillance missions over Syrian airspace to "forestall any efforts to regroup" of the group subsequent to its military defeat at the battle of Baghuz in the year 2019, the authorities noted.
"I want to thank all the members of the UK armed forces who took part in this mission for their skill and their courage," he commented. "Including them were thousands of British personnel deployed over the holidays. This mission, to take out militants who threaten our safety, demonstrates how British military are prepared to act, all year round, protecting the UK at home and powerful internationally."
During December, the US military carried out what it described as a "large-scale strike" against IS targets in the country, after an assault resulted in the deaths of two US servicemembers and a civilian interpreter in Palmyra.
The U.N. estimates IS still boasts an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 combatants in both countries.
